1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to the area of civil engineering and, more particularly, to an improved transit system and method for access by pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, motorists and, in some cases, equestrians, to improve urban mobility and ecology, this particularly in congested or moribund city and town centers, to thereby afford an experience of community within a transit environment connecting public and private transportation, community destinations, and commercial activities.
2. Description of Related Art
Efforts in the prior art to define pedestrian, bicycle and transit integrated urban and town center space have been burdened with an unfortunate developmental and planning history which, largely, has been a result of an emphasis during the twentieth century upon the automobile as the dominant mode of transportation. Thereby the development and fate of communities have been largely dictated by land and access remaining after all highway construction and reconstruction has been completed, with a resulting deterioration of the inner city and atrophication of commercial and cultural activity in the wake of the well-known suburban sprawl, wherein a wide variety of dispersed destinations and shopping malls have replaced city centers as the primary locus of employment, retail, social and cultural activity.
With the departure of business and, thereby, pedestrians and bicyclists from the historic inner city or, in the case of less urban areas, the town or village center, vestiges of the socially responsive lifestyle of the nineteenth and early twentieth century have largely disappeared. In others words, due principally to a lack of planning or design to integrate community transportation needs with other needs of the community, there has resulted an automobile and interstate highway network of roads which has impacted upon human values and social interactions across a broad range of community activities including, without limitation, housing, employment, education, and social or personal activities such as recreation, entertainment, shopping, restaurant, cultural, religious and governmental events or endeavors. As such, the dominance of the automobile, and its concomitant highway and super highway networks, has depleted inner cities and community centers not only of people, but also of architectural components, environmental qualities, urban adapted wildlife habitats, and open space large enough for a full array of social and personal events and activities associated with historic city centers, wherein most of the historic expression of society has occurred.
The present invention may, therefore, be understood in terms of a system and means through which traditional transit systems may be linked to all modes of transport utilizing an ergonomic hybrid transit access arrayed within a community to provide both commercial and social stimulus to city and community centers, by providing a visually diverse, and well landscaped, attractively built environment and open social space within the transportation corridor, and physiologically-defined parameters designed to create personal interest or xe2x80x9chold time,xe2x80x9d i.e., parameters designed to create for individuals within a system of such corridors, a personal interest in the space and people around them to thus encourage a pedestrian or bicyclist to want to continue in that mode of transport within an inventive xe2x80x9cgreenwayxe2x80x9d transit access corridor until the arrival of public transit, pursuant to an ergonomically defined schedule of service. As such, the present invention may be understood in terms of its purpose which is to provide improved pedestrian access to traditional rail and bus public transit systems for larger numbers of people over greater distances so as to counter, remedy and furnish alternatives to the automobile/interstate highway/shopping mall/sprawl development/destination dispersion lifestyle which has come to dominate contemporary life.
3. Prior Art
The prior art, as reflected in U.S. patents, discloses various types of transportation systems, some related to urban shopper traffic. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,405,612 (1968) to Pearson, entitled Method and Structure for Handling Urban Shopper Traffic, teaches a system in which all vehicles greater than passenger automobile height are barred from streets during shopping hours, and includes urban pedestrian bridges over streets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,681 (1997) to Senior, entitled Transportation Method for Rider Propelled Vehicles, teaches the use of a covered bridge-like structure in which air moving therethrough provides aid to bicyclists riding in the direction of air flow within the structure.
In view of the above, the instant transit, access corridor may be viewed as a part of an evolutionary process of transportation intended to ameliorate the pedestrian, bicycle and transit adverse atmosphere found in many cities and suburban environments, while providing an improvement in the ecological, commercial, and social space characterizing city and community centers today.
The invention defines an ergonomic hybrid transit access corridor definable in terms of an x,y,z Cartesian coordinate system, in which such a corridor is characterized by a plurality of integral x-axis, y-axis corridor segments, the corridors having an aggregate x-axis width in a range of about 50 to about 230 feet, in which the entire corridor is characterized by between 12 and 17 longitudinal transversely narrow segments. Within an ergonomic hybrid transit access corridor there exists a plurality of corridor segments. In most instances, there is centrally disposed a vehicular bi-directional two to six lane roadway, including, in some instances, a roadway median to enhance bi-directional vehicular movements and street crossing safety and comfort. Each vehicular lane exhibits an x-axis width in a range of 9 to 12 feet. Reduction in lane width occurs or is imposed as a function of available space and a desired reduction in auto traffic speed to a rate of vehicular movement compatible, safe and comfortable for the nearby pedestrian and bicyclist or similar movements. Arranged symmetrically outwardly about said roadway are laterally disposed parallel parking segments and bicycle lane segments, and, thereafter, a greenscape segment usable for a variety of selectable landscape and hardscape variables. Symmetrically outwardly from said parallel parking segments, bicycle lane segments and greenscape segments are greenway transit segments for pedestrian and slow speed pedestrian compatible bicycle or similar movements, which include sets of small gauge rail tracks installed flush to or near the surface of the greenway transit segments, for use by a pedestrian compatible low speed, low profile pedestrian compatible tram, trolley or train-like transit vehicle having floors situated at an horizontal (xy plane) level not exceeding about 20 inches above the plane of the transit segments. Such segments are of sufficient width to facilitate co-use by pedestrians, bicycles, and these small transit vehicles and other pedestrian compatible vehicles or conveyances. Such segments connect to intermodel transportation linkages adjacent to the inventive corridor.
Beneath each greenway transit segment, a multi-purpose underground utility conduit may be constructed to serve as a foundation and also as a means of unified utility, information and service delivery and protection of utility conduits therein, these including without limitation: electric power cables; drinking water, re-use water and sewer lines; storm water drainage pipes; natural or synthetic gas lines; telephone, cable television and fiber optic communications; data transmission means; pneumatic tubes; security devices; fire services; a low current magnetic inductive track for vehicular propulsion; and storage, maintenance access, and transit power equipment for the multi-use subcorridors.
Further symmetrically outwardly therefrom, are respective second greenscape segments usable for a variety of selectable landscape and hardscape variables.
Outwardly beyond the second pair of greenscape segments are pedestrian arcade segments which comprise a yz plane interface between the public right of way or easement and private commercial store frontage which includes therein a variety of y-axis usages and attractions within such arcades or, alternatively, porches, awnings, balconies, roof overhangs, courtyards, zaquans or pedestrian vias. The number and length of each storefront is designed to provide frequent variety and pedestrian attractions to thereby direct pedestrian interest and attention to both the retail subject matter along the arcade and the landscape and streetscape details which lie ahead in the y-axis, thereby giving the pedestrian an incentive to move y-directionally forward until he has reached a physiologically and psychologically defined x-axis street or corridor intersection, or a defined sitting or park area within the corridor at which one may rest, congregate, and/or enter small, slow moving transit vehicles to travel further forward along the greenway transit segments to various known: intermodal facilities to access traditional rail and bus public transit; parking areas to access private automobile transport; or, local destinations significant for activities of daily life, i.e., destinations including home, work, schools, and social activities such as recreation, entertainment, shopping, cultural, religious, or government events or endeavors. The periodicity of the schedule of the small, slow moving transit vehicles and their routes within the greenway transit segments, adjacent to the arcade segments, are physiologically and psychologically defined so that a pedestrian will not abandon pedestrian, bicycle, transit or related transportation choices because one becomes impatient, bored, uncomfortable or weary, is too far from a desired destination or perceives it to be too far from a destination to comfortably walk, bicycle, or use transit to get there.
The arcade store frontage, as well as the roof, balcony, porch or awning overhang thereof comprise aspects of larger z-axis architectural structures which selectably include retail uses on the first floor fronting the corridors, multi-level parking and non-retail commercial and residential usages at upper levels thereof. The arcade-characterized geometry of such z-axis structures may be effected through retrofit treatments of pre-existing structures.
A greenway ratio of the instant corridor is defined by a relationship of a combined dimension of the x-axis of the roadway, the roadway median (if any) and parallel parking segments, to the entire x-axis of the corridor, that is not greater than about fifty percent. The z-axis or height of the above-referenced architectural structures is typically constructed when buildings exist on one or both sides of the corridor, so as to provide an enclosure ratio that will range from about thirty to about fifty percent of the x-axis dimension of the corridor. Where this enclosure ratio is not met other means to provide enclosure protection and design interest within a defined cross-section of the transit greenway network can be designed, including, without limitation: additional landscape or open space to retain pedestrian and bicyclist comfort; transit connections to pass through any enclosure gap; and village squares positioned within optimal distances of 900 to 1500 feet of each other.
Further, architectural lighting is provided for the corridor, including transit vehicles, to provide appropriate effects and safety at night. More generally, architectural lighting is selectably used as a design, theme or activity-enhancing medium.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a pedestrian-oriented transportation system to improve the quality of life in urban, suburban and environmentally-sensitive settings, enabling improved intermodel connection of traditional rail and bus public transit to community destinations, using corridors of sufficient width to provide multiple walkways and corridors for pedestrians and bicyclists, and greenway transit corridors for pedestrians, bicyclists and small, slow moving, pedestrian compatible, transit vehicles for movement beyond the distance of a comfortable walk or bike ride and, where community interest exists, corridor widths for equestrian movements.
Another object is to provide a transit system for the linking together of residential neighborhoods, places of employment, schools, recreations areas, entertainment and shopping destinations, restaurants, cultural, religion, social and governmental facilities, with interconnection to traditional rail and public transportation, airports and seaports to thereby relieve congestion caused by automobiles and trucks, and enhance ecological factors for the community.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved transit system having social, economic and commercial benefits to communities using such a system.
It is a yet further object to provide socially interactive, physically comfortable corridors within view or easy access to residences, places of employment, schools, and social or personal activities such as recreation, entertainment, shopping destinations, restaurants, and cultural, religious, or governmental events or other endeavors.
The above and yet other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the hereinafter set forth Brief Description of the Drawings and Detailed Description of the Invention.